--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had serious reservations about putting…" description: "\"I had serious reservations about putting my son in the public schools in my area. I have a tremendous amount of fear for the future of my boy. He's nin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/ana-castillo-13741_adulthood_i-had-serious-reservations-about-putting_1050468.jpg" --- # I had serious reservations about putting my son in the… ![“I had serious reservations about putting my son in the public schools in my area. I have a tremendous amount of fear for the future of my boy. He's nine-and- a-half and dark-skinned. By the time he's 12 or 13, who knows who he's going to be identifying with in these days when you get shot down for…” quote by Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/ana-castillo-13741_adulthood_i-had-serious-reservations-about-putting_1050468.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/ana-castillo-13741_adulthood_i-had-serious-reservations-about-putting_1050468.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/ana-castillo-13741_adulthood_i-had-serious-reservations-about-putting_1050468.jpg) > “I had serious reservations about putting my son in the public schools in my area. I have a tremendous amount of fear for the future of my boy. He's nine-and- a-half and dark-skinned. By the time he's 12 or 13, who knows who he's going to be identifying with in these days when you get shot down for wearing expensive Nikes to school...I've heard that if a Latino makes it to 19 years of age, he has a good chance of surviving into adulthood. Up until then, you don't know.” [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker expresses deep fear for her dark‑skinned son’s future in a society where racial bias and violence threaten his safety and identity. **In simple terms:** She worries about racism and violence affecting her son’s future. Key Takeaway Advocate for equitable, safe education. Themes racism violence education identity fear Mood concerned determined Type social activist When to use this quote - school policy reform - community mentorship - racial equity programs - parental advocacy Key Concepts systemic bias social justice community safety parental concern Questions to Reflect On - How can communities protect vulnerable youth? - What systemic changes reduce racial disparities? A Different Perspective The perspective may overlook positive examples of resilience and support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adulthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Dark skinned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-skinned/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Latino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latino/) [Public school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-school/) [Public schools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-schools/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Surviving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surviving/) ## Related quotes > [Back when I watched 'Future Boy Conan,' I thought I might like to try my hand at animation, but now, not at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-toriyama/back-when-i-watched-future-boy-conan-i-thought-i-might-like-to-try-my/) [Akira Toriyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-toriyama/) > [My son is not a public figure to me, he is my son. I can't predict what's going to be in the headlines. Justin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattie-mallette/my-son-is-not-a-public-figure-to-me-he-is-my-son-i-can-t-predict-what/) [Pattie Mallette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattie-mallette/) > [“He picks up speed and seems to lose his gangliness, the slouchy funk of hormones and unbelonging and all the stammering things that seal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo-underworld/he-picks-up-speed-and-seems-to-lose-his-gangliness-the-slouchy-funk/) Don Delillo Underworld > [Unless artists can remember what it was to be a little boy, they are only half complete as artist and as man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/unless-artists-can-remember-what-it-was-to-be-a-little-boy-they-are/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [I have wrought my simple plan If I give one hour of joy To the boy who’s half a man, Or the man who’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/i-have-wrought-my-simple-plan-if-i-give-one-hour-of-joy-to-the-boy/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“My brother Ramo was only a little boy half my age, which was twelve. He was small for one who had lived so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-o-dell/my-brother-ramo-was-only-a-little-boy-half-my-age-which-was-twelve-he/) [Scott O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-o-dell/) > [We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now-intend-to-express-our/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [In my country - even though we have a lot of dark-skinned people - people think the lighter you are, the better you are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khoudia-diop/in-my-country-even-though-we-have-a-lot-of-dark-skinned-people-people/) [Khoudia Diop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khoudia-diop/) > [I have a thick skin, which comes from being a not-really-skinny, dark-skinned Indian woman. I haven't fit in every place, and so I'm kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/i-have-a-thick-skin-which-comes-from-being-a-not-really-skinny-dark/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [I’m a black woman who is from Central Falls, Rhode Island. I’m dark skinned. I’m quirky. I’m shy. I’m strong. I’m guarded. I’m weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-m-a-black-woman-who-is-from-central-falls-rhode-island-i-m-dark/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [“Being that the \*historical\* Jesus was of pure Hebraic descent- lineage of Eber- He was not an Arab or of Arabic descent, therefore He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/being-that-the-historical-jesus-was-of-pure-hebraic-descent-lineage/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [A child who can love the oddities of a fantasy book cannot possibly be xenophobic as an adult. What is a different color, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-yolen/a-child-who-can-love-the-oddities-of-a-fantasy-book-cannot-possibly/) [Jane Yolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-yolen/) > [For black people who are really dark - and a lot of black people were averse to be dark skinned - it was believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/for-black-people-who-are-really-dark-and-a-lot-of-black-people-were/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [“She was tall and dark-skinned and looked like a Nigerian sculpture. She moved like a lioness, her every step bristling with suppressed violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-greer/she-was-tall-and-dark-skinned-and-looked-like-a-nigerian-sculpture/) [Bonnie Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-greer/) > [Whether chocolate or vanilla, or you're somewhere in between, A cappuccino mocha or a caramel queen, Rejected by the black, not accepted by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murs/whether-chocolate-or-vanilla-or-you-re-somewhere-in-between-a/) [MURS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murs/) ## More by Ana Castillo > [There’s something insupportable about being pissed with the one person on this planet that sends your adrenaline flowing to remind you that you’re alive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/there-s-something-insupportable-about-being-pissed-with-the-one/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [When one of us dies of cancer, loses her mind, or commits suicide, we must not blame her for her inability to survive an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/when-one-of-us-dies-of-cancer-loses-her-mind-or-commits-suicide-we/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [To all the women and the men who ever loved me just a little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/to-all-the-women-and-the-men-who-ever-loved-me-just-a-little/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [Catch me, as if I have surely been out committing a violation against you, my sin of insisting on existing without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/catch-me-as-if-i-have-surely-been-out-committing-a-violation-against/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [When I devoted myself to poetry - and poetry is a very serious medium - I don't think the people that knew me as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/when-i-devoted-myself-to-poetry-and-poetry-is-a-very-serious-medium-i/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [I'm obviously an American citizen. My parents are American citizens. But I'm not looked at as an American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/i-m-obviously-an-american-citizen-my-parents-are-american-citizens/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [A good lover will do that, see something worthwhile in you that you never knew was there. And when there's something you don't like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/a-good-lover-will-do-that-see-something-worthwhile-in-you-that-you/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [In nature, creatures never ended the lives of others except to survive. To women, abortion was self-defense and preservation of the species. Abortion was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/in-nature-creatures-never-ended-the-lives-of-others-except-to-survive/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [As time has gone on and we're at the end of the 20th century and major publishing is a big business, yes, of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/as-time-has-gone-on-and-we-re-at-the-end-of-the-20th-century-and/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [“Women endure the labor of childbirth and men send themselves to war! But I gave birth to eight children and never once did I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/women-endure-the-labor-of-childbirth-and-men-send-themselves-to-war/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [Once innocence--an all too-brief state of being, if such a one exists--encounters experience, it is transformed. If that transformation is understood, it becomes knowledge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/once-innocence-an-all-too-brief-state-of-being-if-such-a-one-exists/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [There are things coming from me that I felt I wanted to talk about. My search for my own blend of spirituality, my acknowledgement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/there-are-things-coming-from-me-that-i-felt-i-wanted-to-talk-about-my/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [Poverty has its advantages. When you're that poor what would you have that anyone would want? Except your peace of mind. Your dignity. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/poverty-has-its-advantages-when-you-re-that-poor-what-would-you-have/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [We were doing the same thing. We will never have "a" Chicano English or Spanish because of regional differences. But I think that because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/we-were-doing-the-same-thing-we-will-never-have-a-chicano-english-or/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [According to our social pyramid, all men who feel displaced racially, culturally, and/or because of economic hardships will turn on those whom they feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/according-to-our-social-pyramid-all-men-who-feel-displaced-racially/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) [Explore all 49 Ana Castillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) ## More Adulthood quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [People often say that you should never work with child actors. I think that's all wrong. Children have not had the imagination kicked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/people-often-say-that-you-should-never-work-with-child-actors-i-think/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Two things suck about becoming an adult male - paying taxes and getting a finger in your butt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-code/two-things-suck-about-becoming-an-adult-male-paying-taxes-and-getting/) Guy Code > [You can only pretend for so long before reality hits and you realize he/she is not who you thought or what you truly want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/you-can-only-pretend-for-so-long-before-reality-hits-and-you-realize/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“English: "Being an adult doesn't mean killing the child we once were; it means being able to protect him." Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [“I wondered what a man I had encountered the day before on the plane en route to Chicago's O'Hare airport would have made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-wondered-what-a-man-i-had-encountered-the-day-before-on-the-plane/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. 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Their tailored clothes and unbending hairdos, their clipboards and laser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/the-entrepreneurs-are-only-about-my-age-probably-younger-but-they-don/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) [Browse all 651 Adulthood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had serious reservations about putting my son in the public schools in my area. I have a tremendous amount of fear for the future of my boy. He's nine-and- a-half and dark-skinned. By the time he's 12 or 13, who knows who he's going to be identifying with in these days when you get shot down for wearing expensive Nikes to school...I've heard that if a Latino makes it to 19 years of age, he has a good chance of surviving into adulthood. 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